"It's really nice to win again here in Morocco", says Giniel De Villiers, after finishing the last stage in his Toyota Hilux. "I’m ecstatic to be on the top step of the podium again."

De Villiers thanked the team for all the preparatory work on his car and praised his new navigator, Alex Haro: I’m really glad for Alex as well. He did a great job in the car, and I’m sure this victory will give both of us confidence as we continue to prepare for the Dakar Rally.”

Team Principal, Glyn Hall, was overjoyed by the win, despite the disappointment of losing Nasser Al Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel from the lead of the event during stage 4. “Yes, that was a big blow to our campaign,” he said, “but for Giniel and Alex to come through and seal the deal is simply superb.”

Earlier, teammates Bernhard ten Brinke and navigator Tom Colsoul had had a hard time during the rally, when they lost a large amount of time after hitting an unmarked ditch at high speed during the third stage. In the final stage, however, they came back well by finishing on P2, just 26 seconds behind Giniel de Villiers and Alex Haro. Bernhard ten Brinke and Tom Colsoul took 20th place in the general classification.

In the last stage TOYOTA GAZOO Racing's Fernando Alonso and Marc Coma also came back to P8 and finished in 21st place in the general classification. The duo will continue their training with the team, with a view to the Dakar Rally in 2020.